Description

The Routledge Companion to Philosophy and Film is the first comprehensive volume to explore the main themes, topics, thinkers and issues in philosophy and film. The Companion features sixty specially commissioned chapters from international scholars and is divided into four clear parts:

• issues and concepts

• authors and trends

• genres

• film as philosophy.

Part one is a comprehensive section examining key concepts, including chapters on acting, censorship, character, depiction, ethics, genre, interpretation, narrative, reception and spectatorship and style. Part two covers authors and scholars of film and significant theories Part three examines genres such as documentary, experimental cinema, horror, comedy and tragedy. Part four includes chapters on key directors such as Tarkovsky, Bergman and Terrence Malick and on particular films including Memento.

Each chapter includes a section of annotated further reading and is cross-referenced to related entries.

The Routledge Companion to Philosophy and Film is essential reading for anyone interested in philosophy of film, aesthetics and film and cinema studies.

Reviews

"Many of the entries offer insightful readings of particular films and filmmakers. … [C]omprehensive and high-quality coverage of the main concepts, authors, trends, and issues within film and philosophy. As such, this will no doubt be a valuable resource, suitable in particular for those who are approaching the field for the first time or those seeking an overview of a particular concept." – The British Journal of Aesthetics

"A fascinating, rich volume offering dazzling insights and incisive commentary on every page, the book not only covers a wide range of concerns and concepts but is also organized and presented in a clear, straightforward manner. Every serious student of film will want this book, which could also serve as a text in advanced film-theory classes. Summing Up: Highly recommended.' - Choice

"The Routledge Companion to Philosophy and Film features incisive, illuminating, well-documented essays authored by a wide range of established major players and a new generation of philosophers of film. This book will be a godsend for teachers of the subject at all levels as well as an indispensable reference volume for anyone interested in exploring the invitation to philosophical reflection that the medium of film inexorably extends to us." - Nancy Bauer, Tufts University, USA

"This volume distinguishes itself from its competitors by the richness of insight that results from its willingness to acknowledge and explore the sheer variety of ways in which cinema calls for, and can even put in question, the standing interests and concerns of philosophers".- Stephen Mulhall, New College Oxford

About the Series

Routledge Philosophy Companions offer thorough, high quality surveys and assessments of the major topics and periods in philosophy. Covering key problems, themes and thinkers, all entries are specially commissioned for each volume and written by leading scholars in the field. Clear, accessible and carefully edited and organised, Routledge Philosophy Companions are indispensable for anyone coming to a major topic or period in philosophy, as well as for the more advanced reader.